Hertz Announces On-Line Enrollment for Its Expedited #1 Club Gold Service
5 August 1998
Hertz Announces On-Line Enrollment for Its Expedited #1 Club Gold ServicePARK RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 5 -- The Hertz Corporation , the world's largest car rental company, announced that customers can now enroll for its longstanding expedited car rental service, Hertz #1 Club Gold through its website located at http://www.hertz.com. In 1989, Hertz became the first car rental company to offer customers #1 Club Gold, its premier expedited rental service with preassigned vehicles sheltered under weather-protected canopies. While Hertz #1 Club Gold was designed to meet the needs of the frequent business traveler, it is available to all Hertz customers with an annual fee of $50. In many cases, the annual fee is waived for corporate customers and through agreements with marketing partners. With Hertz #1 Club Gold, members have no rental agreements to sign or car lot to roam since their vehicle is pre-selected. "In designing, Hertz #1 Club Gold service, we recognized the importance of speed of service for the business traveler and structured the service so that a customer's transaction was complete prior to his or her arrival, thus eliminating all the transaction time," said Brian J. Kennedy, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales for Hertz. After enrollment, Hertz maintains a data profile for each Gold member including driver's license number, credit card number(s), preferred car class and optional service choices. To enroll online, Hertz customers must read the terms and conditions found at the website and supply the necessary personal information for enrollment. Upon completion, customers must print out the enrollment form, sign it and fax or mail it back to Hertz. Within approximately two weeks customers will receive their Hertz #1 Club Gold membership card in the mail and will be billed their membership fee, if applicable. Hertz offers two types of #1 Club Gold Service: canopy and counter. At 38 U.S. airports plus London's Heathrow, customers bypass all counters. They simply board Hertz' courtesy bus and are taken to a Hertz #1 Club Gold-canopied facility, where each renter's name is displayed on an electric signboard with a corresponding stall number, where the car is waiting, trunk open, keys in the ignition, ready to pull out and go. Hertz #1 Club Gold counter service is available at over 600 airports throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This service requires that customers stop by the "#1 Club Gold Member Only" counter to pick up their completed rental record and keys virtually eliminating the need for any transaction, since it is completed before the customer's arrival. Hertz #1 Club Gold service is offered worldwide in many countries and has over 2 million active members. Hertz has invested over $200 million in developing this service and facilities for nearly a decade and is continuing its expansion through 1998. In addition, earlier this year Hertz was the first car rental company to roll out a weather-protected return service and remains the only company with such a service. Hertz Return Centers ensure that customers are shielded from rain, snow or other weather conditions when returning their car at the conclusion of the rental. The new steel-fabricated canopies covering the car rental return area are available at nearly 15 airports in the U.S. Hertz, operates a fleet of over 500,000 vehicles from over 5,500 locations in approximately 140 countries.
